Wellhouse



M. B. LAYNE March 12, 1963 WELLHOUSE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. 27, 1960 INVENTOR. Mr! E Lay/7e BY W 44% A fro/nay M. B. LAYNE March 12, 1963 WELT-HOUSE Filed Sept. 27, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m E; N v 1 WWW 3,d8il,619 WELLHQUSE Maria E. Layne, 114 W. 19th St, Higginsville, Mo. Filed Sept. 27, 1960, Ser. No. 58,783 2 Claims. (Ci. -1)

This invention relates to new and useful improvements inwellhouses, and has particular reference to that class of building structure comm-only built over a water well to house the pump, water treating equipment, and the like, together with the associated electrical gear.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a wellhouse having novel provisions permitting servicing of the well, such as cleaning, replacement of casings, and the like. Such servicing requires equipment involving cranes, derricks and the like often much taller than the wellhouse itself, which equipment therefore cannot normally be positioned directly over the well if the well is protected by a wellhouse. This object is accomplished generally by means of a building structure having a notched aperture in the roof thereof opening through an edge of said roof and a coinciding aperture formed in a side wall of the structure. When these apertures are open, forming a single unobstructed aperture in the top and side of the structure, a well servicing rig of any height may be positioned directly above the well. A closure cap and removable wall panel are provided respectively for the roof and wall apertures, and when in place they close the structure securely against the weather. The wall panel may or may not comprise doors which may be opened to provide normal walk-in access to the structure.

Another object is the pro-vision of a structure as described above wherein the cap and wall panels are related to the structure generally, and to each other, in a manner to prevent leakage of rain or other moisture into the structure.

A still further object is the provision of a structure of the type described above wherein said cap member can be released for removal only by means accessible only from the interior of the structure, and wherein said wall panel can be removed only after said cap is removed.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, efliciency and convenience of usage, and adaptability for use in structures other than wellhouses wherein overhead access to the contents of the structure is desired.

With these objects in view, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevati-onal view, with parts broken away, of a Wellhouse embodying the present invention, showing the upper portion thereof,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the wellhouse shown in FIG. 1, with parts broken away,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, with the cap memher and associated parts removed,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken on line IVIV of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken on line VV of FIG. 1.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several views, and the numeral 2 applies generally to a building structure having side walls 4 and a roof 6, all of which may be formed of reinforced concrete, as shown, or any other suitable material. One of the side walls is provided with a door opening or aperture 8 which extends from the floor, not shown, through the upper edge of said side wall. If desired, the side walls 4 may be extended above roof 6 to form a fire wall 10, except the side wall in which door opening 8 is formed.

It will then be understood that the structure is built over a well, the position of the head of the well, with respect to the structure, being indicated at 112 in FIG. 3.

Roof 6 has an aperture 14 formed therethrough as an inward notch from one edge thereof, said aperture being disposed directly above well 12, and its open edge registering with the upper edge of door opening 8. Thus when neither door opening 8 or roof aperture 14 are closed, they constitute in combination a single opening through the side and roof of the building, so that mobile well-servicing equipment of any height may be moved into the building through door opening 8 and positioned directly over well 12, the boom, derrick, tower or other tall portions of said equipment projecting upwardly through roof aperture 14. Surrounding the edge of said roof aperture, except along the open edge thereof, is a raised curb 16 preferably formed integrally with roof 6, the function of said curb being to prevent rain or other moisture falling on other portions of the roof from draining into the building through aperture 14.

Roof aperture 14 is normally closed by a sheet metal cap member 18 having a downturned lip 29 around the entire periphery thereof. Along the edges of said aperture bounded by curb 16, said lip slidably engages the outer vertical face of said curb. Along the edge of the roof aperture directly above door opening 8, lip 20 is extended lower, and is inclined outwardly and downwardly to form a drip shield 22, the lower edge of which extends at least as low as the extreme upper edge of door opening 8. The inner surface of the cap, within the limits of roof aperture 14, is covered with a layer of insulating material 24 to facilitate heating the interior of the structure.

A horizontally extending angle iron 26 bridges door opening 8, the end portions thereof resting on hearing plates 28 provided therefor on the upper edge of side wall 4, respectively at opposite sides of said door opening. Each end portion of said angle iron receives therethrough the upper end of a bolt 39 embedded in the masonry of wall 4, and a nut 32 is threaded on said bolt, whereby to secure said angle iron in position. The vertical leg of said angle iron is secured at intervals therealong to lip 2%) of the cap, just above drip shield 22, as by rivets 34. Thus the cap is rigidly secured to the building structure, and cannot be removed without first removing nuts 32 from bolts 30. These nuts are of course accessible only from the interior of the structure. Cap 18 is provided with an eye member 36 afiixed in the top thereof, to facilitate removal of said cap when desired.

Door opening 8 has fitted therein a door frame comprising a pair of uprights 38 and 4d affixed to side wall 4 respectively at opposite sides of the door opening, and a lintel 42 extending between the upper ends of said uprights. Said lintel, however, is not attached to the uprights, but instead is rigidly afiixed by bolts 44 to angle iron 26, so as to be removed with cap 18. Mounted in said door frame are a pair of outwardly opening doors 46 and 48 which cooperate to cover the door opening, and which are respectively connected to frame uprights 38 and 40 by vertical hinges 5d. Said doors are provided also with any standard lock 52 to prevent them from Iripening outwardly except when operated by the proper It may be desired to remove the doors completely from 5 their hinges to provide complete and unobstructed access to the door opening. For this reason, each hinge 50 is formed as shown in FIG. 5, with an upper barrel 54 having a flange 56 secured to the associated door 46 or 48 by screws 58, a lower barrel 60 coaxial with barrel 54 and having a flange 62 secured to upright 38 or 40 by screws 64, and a pintle 66 secured in barrel 54 as by welding at 68 and extending downwardly into barrel 60 for rotation therein. Thus when the doors are open, or

when lintel 42 is removed asa partof the cap, the doors may be lifted to remove the doors from the hinges. However, when the cap is in position and the doors are closed,

the doors are prevented from moving upwardlyby T their 1 position within thedoor frame. Also, the pintles cannot be removed to gain unauthorized entry to the building.

It will beseen that doors 46 and 48, when closed, form a single-wall panel which cannot be removed exeeptby upward movement thereof relative to the building, and

that the cap structureeflectively prevents suchupward movement, so'that the panel cannot be removed without first removing the: cap structure.' The substitution of a modification as well as many other minor changes-of structure and operation could 'be made without departing from the-spirit of the invention'as defined by the scope of the appended claims, 11

What I claim as new" and desireto protect by Letters Patent is? 1. A building structure comprising side walls and a roof, one of said side walls having an apertureformed therein extendingthrough theupper edge thereof and said roof having an aperture formed therein extending through anedge thereof, said wall and'roof'apertures coinciding to form -a single unobstructed aperture through the side and top of said structure, outwardly opening doors normally closing said wall aperture, vertical hinges connecting said doors to said structure for horizontal swinging movement, releasable locking means securing said doors closed, said hinges each including a downwardly extending pintle immovably fixed to saiddoor and an upwardly opening socket member immovably fixed to said structure and in which said pintle is pivoted, whereby said doors when closed may be removed from said hinges only by bodily upward movement'ofsaid doors relative to said structure, and a removable cap membernormally covering said roof aperture, said oap 'rnember overlapping the upper edges of said doors whe'n said doors are closed, whereby toprevent upward movement of said doors.

2. A-building structure as recited in claim 1 with the addition ofreleasable means s'ecuringsaid cap member inposition, said securing means being accessible for release-only from the interiorofsaid structure.

References-Cited in the fileof this'patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A BUILDING STRUCTURE COMPRISING SIDE WALLS AND A ROOF, ONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS HAVING AN APERTURE FORMED THEREIN EXTENDING THROUGH THE UPPER EDGE THEREOF AND SAID ROOF HAVING AN APERTURE FORMED THEREIN EXTENDING THROUGH AN EDGE THEREOF, SAID WALL AND ROOF APERTURES COINCIDING TO FORM A SINGLE UNOBSTRUCTED APERTURE THROUGH THE SIDE AND TOP OF SAID STRUCTURE, OUTWARDLY OPENING DOORS NORMALLY CLOSING SAID WALL APERTURE, VERTICAL HINGES CONNECTING SAID DOORS TO SAID STRUCTURE FOR HORIZONTAL SWINGING MOVEMENT, RELEASABLE LOCKING MEANS SECURING SAID DOORS CLOSED, SAID HINGES EACH INCLUDING A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING PINTLE IMMOVABLY FIXED TO SAID DOOR AND AN UPWARDLY OPENING SOCKET MEMBER IMMOVABLY FIXED TO SAID STRUCTURE AND IN WHICH SAID PINTLE IS PIVOTED, WHEREBY SAID DOORS WHEN CLOSED MAY BE REMOVED FROM SAID HINGES ONLY BY BODILY UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID DOORS RELATIVE TO SAID STRUCTURE, AND A REMOVABLE CAP MEMBER NORMALLY COVERING SAID ROOF APERTURE, SAID CAP MEMBER OVERLAPPING THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID DOORS WHEN SAID DOORS ARE CLOSED, WHEREBY TO PREVENT UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID DOORS. 